Everything Has Changed
by WinxClub63
Summary: Sportacus' world is falling apart when his wife, Stephanie, died in a car crash, and he's left with his 7-months-old son Joshua. When he meets the new junior high teacher, she slowly fixing up his world while doesn't even knows it.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Although it was a nice, bright summer in LazyTown, no one felt like that.

Two weeks ago, Stephanie, the former mayor's niece and Sportacus' wife, died in a car accident at 26, leaving Sportacus with their 7-months-old son alone.

Within seconds his life fell apart when the policemen knocked on his door. His son, Joshua didn't let him sleep since the night of the accident, and Sportacus didn't know how to calm him down, although he tried everything.

All of Stephanie's friends were crushed. Stingy and Trixie were three months married, and now they even couldn't look at their photo album from their wedding because Stephanie appeared in so many pictures.

Ziggy just done his college years, he followed Sportacus' way and became a basketball player. Soon he will play his first professional game in New York, but Stephanie won't be there to cheer him.

Pixel has become a successful Video Game programmer, and even has a girlfriend who he met during his studies, and she moved in with him 6 months ago. She tried to keep his mind distracted from Stephanie's death, but she knew it was too soon trying to do so.

Bessie and Milford, who were now married for 12 years, were the most devastated. Milford couldn't sleep since his mind was full of thoughts and memories about his beloved niece, and Bessie always tried to comfort him, which also made her sleepless.

But their lives were about to change in the day when Stingy's and Trixie's new neighbour from the floor below them in the building moved in.

She was a 23-years-old teacher named Jessica, who moved to LazyTown to become a teacher in the LazyTown Junior High for History and Literature. In her free time she liked to sing, listen to music or just watch TV or go to see a movie. And she was gorgeous. She had brown hair and brown eyes with a hint of green in them, and she had bright pink lips.

"Well," she sighed, "this was the last box."

She looked around at her apartment, and almost fainted when she tried to think how to unpack everything by herself.

"Well, I've done enough! I'll go take a walk around this town, and begin to unpack tomorrow." She said to herself as she took her phone and walked out the door of her apartment.

Outside, she saw kids playing in the park. Many of them.

"It's nice to see that not all the kids of our generation are playing with their phones." She smiled to herself. Here and there she saw some adults in the shops, but not many as she expected. Passing some houses, she could the people inside through the windows. All the people were sad.

"I wonder what happened in this town. It's clearly affected many people here." She said and continued walking.

She stopped at one house and saw a man dressed a little odd in a blue and white outfit.

"Well... That's a little weird..." she told herself but then saw the big airship above the backyard of the house. "Even weirder, but a little bit explains the uniform thing..." she looked at it and then back into the house. She saw a baby crawling towards the man, trying to stand up by holding the man's pants. "Aww, that's cute." She smiled, and then saw the man picking up the baby, "and that's even cuter!"

Then the man turned around and she could see him better. "And that's even hotter! Lucky the woman who married this guy." She told herself and was about to leave the place when she almost knocked down the mailman, but only made him drop the letters in his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see there!" she apologized and knelt down to help him pick up the letters.

"Oh, that's alright, it's nothing." He smiled at her as she gave him back the letters.

"There you go!" she smiled back.

"Thank you. Hey, you're new around here, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm Jessica Mendler, I just moved today to Apple street, in the fifth building." She told him.

"Well, then, welcome to LazyTown! I'm sure you'll like it here." He told her as he put the letters in the mailbox, and she saw she missed one letter and picked it up.

"Scheving-Meanswell family..." she read out loud the name on the letter. It had a stamp of the Ministry of the Interior.

"Oh, yeah... This is not good letter if it from the Ministry of the Interior." He told her as he took the letter from her hands and put it in the mailbox.

"Why's that?" she curiously asked.

"Well, I'll tell you something." He sighed, "The man who lives here is Sportacus, the town's hero." He said.

"Hero?"

"Yeah, hero. He doesn't have any supernatural power, so he isn't a superhero, but he is stronger than the average man and he saves everyone here." He explained.

"Oh..." she said. _'Well, now at least it explains the outfit and that zeppelin up there...'_ she thought.

"Anyway, he lost his wife last week, Stephanie was her name. Everybody loved her here, and now he's left here alone with his son. And I'm guessing that this letter is Stephanie's death certificate. And that's why it's not good."

"Aww, poor man..." she replied and looked back at him.

"Yeah, it will take him a long time to recover... Anyway, it was nice meeting you." The mailman said and left.

"You too."

She kept looking at Sportacus, who was now putting on his baby a kind of a hat which she guessed was part of his hero uniform because it matched. Then she looked back at the mailbox. She wanted so badly to know if it was really the death certificate. She then noticed that Sportacus walked out the door with the baby in his hand, who was playing with the hat.

"May I help you?" he asked as he went to open the mailbox.

"Um, no, I'm ok." She shyly replied. She felt her blood rushing to her cheeks, and she didn't know why.

"Alright... I don't think I've seen your face around, are you new here?" He asked her, trying his best to smile.

"Um, yeah, I'm Jessica Mendler, I moved in today. I'm going to teach in the junior high here." She explained.

"Oh, then welcome." He said as he took the letters out of the mailbox.

"Your baby is cute." She tried to change the subject.

"Thanks, I guess..." he smiled a little more when he looked at him doing some silly things with his hat.

"Does he has a name?" she asked.

"Yes. Joshua." He replied, and looked at the letters he got. The first one in the stack was the letter from the Ministry of the Interior. His eyes began to tear.

"Is everything ok?" she asked worried.

"Yeah, it's nothing... It's just... My wife died two weeks ago, and I just got her death certificate." He told her and she saw the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Oh, wow, I'm so sorry." She told him. Her heart broke in two as she saw the man crying.

"Thank you." He said and was about to go back into the house.

"You know, if need help, like taking care of Joshua or something, you can find in building number 5 in Apple street." She told him.

"Alright... I'll remember that. Thanks." He said not even turning to her, and closed the door behind him, and only then she left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

All the way back to her apartment, Jessica couldn't stop thinking about Sportacus and Joshua. It was pretty obvious that Sportacus can't take care of Joshua without a mother figure, but he looked like a man who will try everything so he could do it by himself. She also wondered if he will actually consider using her help as she suggested. When she came to the front door of her building, a woman came behind her with some grocery bags. She was an Asian woman and wore a short red dress and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

"Thank you for holding the door for me." The woman told Jessica.

"You're welcome."

"Hey, don't you the new neighbour from the second floor?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Oh, my name is Jessica, by the way." Jessica said and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Trixie. I'm living with my husband right above your apartment." Trixie told her and shook her hand.

"Great. You know, you're the first neighbour I met, and you seem really nice..." Jessica said and the two began to walk the stairs.

"Do you need any help with the bags?" she asked Trixie.

"No, no, it's alright. Have you met any other citizens already?" Trixie asked.

"Um, yeah, some... I met the mailman..." Jessica began to say.

"Oh, that's nice."

"Yeah... And I also got to meet that guy, Sportacus." She told her, and then Trixie froze.

"You already met Sportacus?" Trixie asked surprised.

"Y-Yes... I just passed next to his house right when he came out..." Jessica explained.

"Oh..." Trixie said and became silent.

'_She must be a friend of him...'_ Jessica thought to herself.

"Well, here we are, the second floor. It was nice meeting you Trixie." Jessica said and left to her apartment.

She got a little shocked when she opened the door because she forgot she hadn't unpacked yet. So she only decided to move a box of clothes to her bedroom, but still unpacked it.

She then picked up her phone and dialled a number.

"Hey, Lacey! What's up?" she asked her cousin over the phone.

"Hey, Jess! How are you doing in your new place?" Lacey asked.

"Pretty great, except that I've just realized how many boxes I have to unpack tomorrow." Jessica told her.

"Really? How many?"

"A LOT! I don't have enough energy for that! Can you please come tomorrow with Brian or something and help me, ple-e-ease?" Jessica pleaded her cousin.

"No way, that's your problem. But don't you have any hot neighbour who can help with this?" Lacey joked.

"Actually, there is a guy like that, but I can't ask for his help." Jessica told her.

"And why not? Are you too shy?" Lacey teased her.

"No. He was widowed two weeks ago, so I don't think it's the right time." Jessica sighed.

"Aww, poor thing." Lacey said and then paused.

"You know what, I'll come tomorrow to help, but only if you'll tell me more about him." She demanded.

"Ugh, alright!"

* * *

It was 10pm and Sportacus couldn't sleep because of Joshua. He tried everything – and twice!

Then he remembered the girl he met that morning, Jessica. She offered to help with Joshua if he needed to. No. He need to do it himself if he's going to be alone with him for a while.

Meanwhile, Jessica thought about Sportacus and Joshua too. She could only imagine how Joshua wouldn't stop crying for his mother at night and Sportacus being helpless. Well, that actually made her laugh a little. But still, she wished she could help.

* * *

In the next morning, around 9:30am, Lacey came to LazyTown to help her cousin to unpack. With the help of the LazyTowners, she found Jessica's building. She went to the second floor and went to the 8th apartment, and rang the bell.

Jessica was still asleep, and the bell made her jump out of bed.

"What time is it..?" she asked herself half asleep, and looked at the time in her phone. She saw it was 9:30am and remembered that Lacey was supposed to come and help her. She quickly put her slippers on and went to open the door to Lacey.

"Hey – I woke you up, didn't I?" Lacey guessed.

"Yes, ugh, I'm so sorry. I ended sleeping at like 1am." Jessica explained as Lacey came in.

"Why don't you go get dressed and brush your teeth, then we will start with the boxes?" Lacey suggested.

"Alright..." Jessica mumbled and went to her room.

* * *

After Jessica freshen up, she and Lacey sorted the boxes by the rooms. First the put all the clothes in Jessica's closet, then put all the books and Jessica's laptop and files (and her guitar) in the work room, then all they got left was the bathroom and kitchen, and they were done with all the boxes around 12pm.

"Now that's what I call a teamwork!" Jessica laughed as she handed out a cup of coffee to Lacey.

"Yeah. Now tell me about this guy you met, you promised." Lacey urged.

"Well, his name is Sportacus, I think he's in his 30's, and he has the most adorable baby boy named Joshua. Oh, and he's also the town hero." Jessica explained.

"Hero?" Lacey raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Yes, a hero, the mailman explained to me, he's like unnaturally strong and he saves people around here from danger all the time." Jessica said.

"Well, he sounds really nice, why don't go for it?" Lacey asked.

"Uh, hello?! He lost his beloved wife just two weeks ago. I just moved in a day ago. I don't even know if he would like me to be his friend, and you're talking about a relationship with him?" Jessica frowned.

"Ok, ok, relax, I was just wondering..."

"I'm going to check my mailbox, I'll be right back." Jessica said and left the apartment.

When she returned, she went over the mail. Most of them were just advertisements, some were bills with her new address, and one of them belonged to Sportacus Scheving-Meanswell.

"Oh, this accidently got into my mailbox." She said surprised.

"Well, here's your chance to be friends with him, go bring him the letter!" Lacey urged again.

"No, I think I will do it later when you're not around." Jessica teased.

"Do you want me to show around town?" she asked.

"Sure."

* * *

The two cousins left the apartment and walked around the town. They eventually sat down next to the playground, where they saw many little children playing.

"Aww, look at them! They're so adorable! I wish I already had one." Lacey said and landed her head on Jessica's shoulders.

"Wait, weren't you and Max trying to have one?" Jessica asked confused.

"Yes, but next week he has this big presentation at work. If he passes it successfully, he will get a very big promotion." Lacey explained.

"Well, that'd be great, that way you can raise a baby in more comfortable economic conditions." Jessica added.

"Yeah... But meanwhile, you can try and get your own family, with this Sportacus guy, and his little baby..." Lacey teased her.

"Oh, stop it." Jessica rolled her eyes, but then landed them on Sportacus, who came to the playground with Joshua.

"Lacey, that's him." She whispered.

"Oh... Oh! Ooh-la-la, Jess! You moved in right on time." Lacey whispered back.

They looked at the two for a while. It seems now that his only happiness was Joshua. Jessica now wished that she could some more happiness to him, but immediately shook the thought out of her head. She barely even known him! While wandering in her thoughts, she felt something trying to climb on her leg. It had a strong grip. Then she looked down and saw it was Joshua trying to stand up.

"Oh, hi there, little guy!" She picked him up, stood up from the bench and went to bring him back to his father, who was actually coming to take him from her so they met in the half way.

"I think this is yours." She laughed.

"Yes it is. Thank you." Sportacus laughed a little and took Joshua from her arms.

"Wait, you're the new woman who moved in yesterday, right?" He asked.

"Yes, Jessica, that's me." She replied.

"Right, Jessica." He smiled. He also felt confused. He felt butterflies while talking to her, and the last time he felt something like that was on his wedding with Stephanie. Why he was feeling it towards another woman?

"So, are you enjoying your stay so far?" he asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, very much." She smiled.

"I'm sorry about being rude yesterday. You know..." He apologized.

"It's ok, I get it, you're going through a hard time." She said.

"Thank you for understanding, because I'm not like that at all!" He told her.

"No, it's absolutely ok." She giggled a little.

"Well, I think I'll go back to my cousin on the bench over there." She started to walk back.

"Oh, right. It was nice talking to you." He smiled and left too.

"Oh my goodness! What were you talking about that it lasted this long?" Lacey asked curiously.

"Well, basically he asked if I enjoy here so far and apologized for being rude yesterday." She told Lacey.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Lacey and Jessica high-fived.

"You know, I even think that for a slight second he blushed." She whispered.

"Wow, nice going!" Lacey whispered back.

* * *

At the evening, after Lacey left, Jessica sat next to the counter reading a magazine when she Sportacus' letter and remembered that she should bring it to him. She quickly went down the stairs and walked to Sportacus' house. It was already 9:30pm.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Oh, hi Jessica! May I help you with something?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Um, yes... This letter accidently got into my mailbox and forgot to bring it to you." She said and handed him the letter.

"Oh, thank you very much." He took the letter from her hand.

"Oh, poor Joshua. Does he do that every night?" Jessica asked as she noticed Joshua's cries.

"Uh, not exactly. He cried at nights until he was 3-months-old, but now he's doing it again because I think he misses his mom." Sportacus explained.

"Oh... Have you tried-" she was about to ask, but he cut her.

"Everything. I've tried everything but he wouldn't calm down.

"May I try something, then?" she asked.

"Um, sure, if you think that'll work." He nodded and let her inside.

She went to Joshua's room and picked him up from his crib. Lying in her arms, Jessica rocked him back and forth, and sang to him a lullaby. Within minutes he was peacefully asleep.

Sportacus listened to her. The lyrics of the lullaby were beautiful. It talked about butterflies in the meadow. Her voice was angelic. It reminded him of Stephanie in some way. But he must to admit, Jessica's voice was even more beautiful than Stephanie's.

Jessica then kissed Joshua's forehead and put him back in his crib. She turned around to see Sportacus smiling at her.

"What?" she asked.

"How did you do that?" he laughed.

"Well, you said he misses his mom. So I acted like one." She smiled.

"And I'm sure you'll be a great one when the day comes." He said.

"Thanks. Now all I need is a guy who can be a great father."

"Oh, you mean you're single?" he asked.

"Yeah... A couple of months before I moved I broke up with my boyfriend, who wasn't that nice, to say the least." She explained.

"And not 'to say the least'?" he teased.

"He was a complete jerk." She laughed and he laughed with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next morning Sportacus finally woke up full of energy, yet surprised. He couldn't believe that he slept full night sleep without Joshua waking up! He wondered what it was about Jessica that made Joshua feel calm. And even more than that, made him feel... good.

He then fed Joshua, ate breakfast, dressed Joshua and then went out to play with him in the hot summer day, when he met Jessica in the park. And she looked beautiful in the daylight sun. For some reason, she made him blush.

"Hi, Sportacus! Hey, Joshua!" She waved to them.

"Good morning Jessica! What are you doing here at this time of the day?" he asked.

"Still exploring the town." She sighed.

"And I'm guessing you're here to play with Joshua." She said as she bent down to Joshua who sat in his stroller.

"You got that right." He replied and smiled.

"Do you mind if I'll join you two? I mean, I have nothing better to do right now." Jessica asked.

"Um, sure..." he hesitated.

The two began to walk around the park and talk.

"I really must thank you for last night. It's the first night in two weeks that I slept good." He told her.

"That's really nothing..." she quietly said and lowered her head so he won't see her blushing.

"No, really. You came to my house just in time!" he laughed.

"So you're saying now that I saved you, the hero?" she laughed too.

"Yes, you did!" he laughed again, then the two became silent the whole way to the park, but Jessica decided to break the silence.

"You know... I don't think it's so good for Joshua to be without his mother or any other mother figure at this stage…" she began to say and he looked at her.

"I'm just saying that when you'll feel ready, try to move on and find a new partner for life... Someone who will love you and Joshua and that you and Joshua will love back, and maybe… maybe have with her more children." She said.

Sportacus just smiled.

"How old are you? 24? 25?" he asked.

"Just turned 23 a month ago." She told him.

"Really? You're very wise for your age." He told her.

"For my age? Why, how old are you?" she asked.

"33 this November." He replied.

"Wow. 10 years of gap, big deal! You just made yourself feel old, y'know?" she teased him.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds stupid now when I'm thinking about it." He laughed.

When they made it to the park, Joshua held out his hands to Jessica so she will pick him up.

"Oh, you want me to pick you up? Alright them." She smiled and took him out of his stroller.

"Wow... You're the first person he actually likes! I mean, if any of my friends tried to take him in their arms he would immediately cry." Sportacus was amazed.

"Really? I should be proud, then." She laughed and kissed Joshua's cheek, and then left to park with him.

Sportacus couldn't help it but smile. He then remembered the things Jessica told him earlier. Maybe… maybe she could be the one he can move on with. Joshua bonded with her in instant, she seems very nice and kind and smart, she had an amazing voice and as a bonus – she was beautiful. Maybe he should give it a try, and move on pretty fast.

* * *

Sportacus and Jessica had a great time with Joshua all day. They played together, had lunch, and eventually she had to accompany them home because Joshua fell asleep in her arms!

"I had a really great time with you two today. Thanks." She quietly said when they arrived to his home.

"Me too. It seems that Joshua had a lot of fun with you too!" he chuckled.

"Yeah, he did." She smiled.

"Would you care to put him to bed? I don't want to take him from you and that he'll start to cry." He asked.

"Sure, that's not a problem." She replied and he let her in.

She put him in bed and quietly walked out of his room back to Sportacus.

"I think I'll be going now. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow." She said and was about to leave but Sportacus stopped her.

"What kind of work, if I may ask?"

"I need to organize all the material I'm going to teach in the coming school year, and it's a lot since I'm going to teach 7th, 8th and 9th grades. I mean, there's only 6 weeks until the new school year." She explained.

"Oh… So do you mind if I'll come over for a while tomorrow? I think Joshua would like to see you." Sportacus asked and blushed. _'I would also like to see you again tomorrow.'_ He thought.

"Um, sure, I guess. But only for an hour or two. I have many things to do." She said and blushed too from seeing him blushing. _'I wouldn't mind if he will disturb me tomorrow.' _She thought to herself and smiled.

"Alright, then. Good night, Jessica." He said and followed her to the door.

"Good night, Sportacus." She said and he closed the door behind her.

"Stephanie... Please give me a clear sign that I can move on and be with her... Please."

* * *

Back at her place, Jessica sat in her office next to her desk in pyjama and a cup of chocolate milk in front of her laptop. She was Skyping Lacey.

"So he's coming to see you tomorrow with Joshua?" Lacey curiously asked.

"Yes... I told him that he can come over and disturb me for an hour or two, since I have a lot of work to do." Jessica replied and yawn.

"Nice. Do you think he will want to 'disturb' you for two hours, if you know what I mean?" Lacey laughed.

"Ew, Lacey, no! We barely know each other and he will bring the baby with him, so no, and get this thought out of your mind." Jessica yelled at her.

"Alright, I went too far with it. But this meeting tomorrow will just get you two closer, which means it will get you into his bed closer than you think." Lacey said and raised an eyebrow.

"C'mon Lacey, don't make think about it right now! I need to have a good sleep because I have to work tomorrow and be focused on that only!" she told Lacey and Lacey froze.

"But trust me, if anything like that will happen, you'll be the first to know." She whispered to her.

"Great! Oh, Max is about to come from work and we might try to have baby when he comes, so I'll hang up on you know. Bye!" Lacey said and pushed a button on her keyboard and the call hung up.

"I love you too, cousin." Jessica sarcastically said and continued browsing on the Internet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jessica decided to wake up very early, so she set an alarm to 8am. When she woke up, she got dressed, brushed her teeth and ate breakfast and around 9am began to work.

"Ugh, doing this is the only disadvantage in my work, yet it's a huge one." She said out loud when she looked at all the files in her office, when she heard a familiar tune coming from her laptop. It was an incoming Skype call from Lacey. Jessica just rolled her eyes and answered.

"What do you want at 9am, Lacey?" she asked.

"Just to see what you will be wearing to your date with Sportacus." Lacey simply answered.

"Lacey, stop it, it's not a date! I mean, I wish it was, but it's not. And I have many things to do, so I'll hang up on you now like you did yesterday. Bye!" Jessica said and pressed the "End call" button.

"Ok, I will do this – in these two weeks I will work on the History material, and after that I will work on the Literature material which leaves me two weeks of vacation!" she thought out loud and grabbed the History files from the shelves.

* * *

Around 3:30pm, Sportacus was on his way to Jessica with Joshua in the stroller, when he met Stingy and Trixie.

"Hey, guys! How are you doing?" he asked.

"Pretty good, and you?" Stingy asked.

"Actually, I'm doing great." He simply replied.

"Great? Really?" Trixie asked surprised.

"Yeah... I'm just trying to be as much happier as I can, and not being stuck with the fact that Stephanie's gone. You know, life goes on..." he explained.

"Right. Anyway, where are you two going?" Stingy tried to change the subject.

"We're on our way to meet Jessica. As much as I know, she's your new neighbour. Have you met her yet?" he asked the two.

"Yes, we did. So what, is she helping you to 'move on', Sportacus?" Trixie asked and gave him a cold look.

"What? No, no! She's just a friend, and she's helping me a little with Joshua, that's all!" Sportacus defended himself.

"Oh, ok. See you later, Sportacus." Trixie said and the two left.

When they were far enough, Sportacus whispered to himself "She may be just a friend, but I actually wish she would help me to move on."

* * *

When he finally arrived to her building, he got a little trouble with carrying Joshua in his stroller, but finally made to the second floor. He found Jessica's apartment and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" He heard from the other side of the door.

Jessica looked from the pip-hole and opened the door.

"Hey! Welcome to my place!" she happily said and let them come in.

"You're apartment is really nice, I must say." He said.

"Thank you. So over there it's the bathroom, next to it there's my bedroom, and the other room is my office which I would like to show you but my files are all over the place, so..." she explained.

"That's alright." He just smiled.

The Joshua held out his hands to Jessica again, like he did yesterday.

"Oh, hi to you too! Yeah, I missed you!" she picked him up from the stroller and hugged him tight in her arms.

Again, Sportacus just smiled. Joshua was happy with her, and that made him happy. But like Joshua, he himself felt happy with her.

The two sat on the couch and began to talk.

"So, have you met any of your neighbours yet?" Sportacus curiously asked.

"Yes, I have. I met this nice old lady, Gladys, who has this cute little dog. She seems very nice and she invited me over on Friday for a coffee." She said.

"Oh, yeah, Gladys. Everyone loves her. And her dog too." He said and smiled.

"And I also met this young couple, Trixie and Stingy. For some reason I don't think they like me." She told him.

"Oh, yeah, they're my friends... I actually met them on my way here. Apparently they are still not over Stephanie's death, because when I told them that I feel great today, that I'm trying to move on and that I coming over to you, they immediately thought that something is going between me and you and that I'm forgetting about Stephanie." He explained to her.

"Oh... And did you say to them something about it?" she curiously asked.

"Yes, that we are just being friends and that you're helping me with Joshua..." he said.

"I feel there's a 'but'." She smiled.

"Well, there is a 'but', but I don't know how you'll react to this..." he quietly said.

"Try me."

"Ok, then... Even that I told them that we're just friends, I really wish we could be more than that..." he directly told her.

"Sportacus, I..." she began to say and giggled a little.

"Yeah, I knew you would laugh or something." He lowered his head.

"No, I want to say that... I kinda feel the same..." she said and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"R-Really?" he turned back to her.

"Yes. I would like to be with you, Sportacus." She smiled. Joshua was looking at her, not understanding what's going on between her and his father.

"Although I think that we should wait a little. I mean, the school year is about to start soon and I'm very busy with it, and your friends are still in the sadness and depression of Stephanie's loss and I don't think they would like to see with another woman right now." She said.

"You're probably right... Although... I would like to do something that will signify that we're officially in a relationship." He said and moved closer.

"And that would be..?" she asked, and then he moved even closer, cupped her face with one hand – and kissed her. And boy, he was and amazing kisser! She didn't want the moment to end, and kissed him back. And all this time she could only think about how amazing he kisses and how her last boyfriend barely kissed her when they were together.

When they drew back, they were silent, they smiled and couldn't stop looking at each other.

"All I have to say is... wow." Jessica laughed a little.

"I'm glad you liked it." Sportacus laughed too.

"I did. Very much."

Now Joshua was sitting between them on the couch, and looked back and forth at them. He decided to crawl back to Jessica's laps.

"Oops... We kinda forgot he was here!" she said and held him closer to her chest.

"And you're officially part of the family now." He looked at Joshua, and then gave Jessica another little kiss.

* * *

For the past two hours they sat and talk, and once in while kissed. He told her wonderful stories about Stephanie, and she told him funny stories about her jerk ex-boyfriend. In two hours they concluded they were made for each other.

When Jessica needed to get back to work, neither of them wanted Sportacus will leave. But since he would distract her more, they just kissed and hugged, and then he left and she got back to work.

* * *

Tired from the long day of working on the History material and kissing Sportacus, she decided to Skype with Lacey. She was eager to tell her about her meeting with Sportacus.

"Lacey!" she screamed from happiness to the screen.

"What?! What happened?!" Lacey freaked out.

"Sportacus happened!" she smiled.

"OH! So how was it?" Lacey asked curiously.

"It was great. We talked, he told me about Stephanie, and I told him about my ex, we played with Joshua... Oh, yeah, and we kissed." Jessica told her.

"Say WHAT?! You kissed?!" Lacey screamed.

"Yes! And god, he's such an amazing kisser!" Jessica said.

"Aww! I'm so happy for you, Jess!"

"Thanks. Although we kinda need to keep our relationship in secret, because his friends don't like me around him, they will think he forgot his wife already..." Jessica said.

"Oh, bummer... But at least you got him."

"Yes, I did." Jessica smiled and victorious smile.

"Soooo... Is there any chance for a... date at his place, soon?" Lacey asked.

"I really hope so." Jessica laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Only two weeks were left to the summer vacation, which meant that Jessica was free of work now, and Sportacus wanted to ask her out on date but he needed to think how to do it since their relationship was secret to his friends. But then he had a great idea to invite her over. He went to his airship, took a piece of paper and wrote to her a letter. He made a paper airplane out of, put it inside a bowling ball and bowled it and the letter flew away to Jessica's place.

But Jessica was still asleep when the paper airplane got stuck in her hair. She (barely) woke up and took the paper out of her hair. "An airplane? What the…?" she was confused but then saw Sportacus' name on one of the wings. She unfolded it and read the letter. It says that he wanted to meet her tonight for dinner. She smile and decided to get up because one way or another she'll have to send back a letter.

On her way to the mailbox with her letter in the capsule, she saw a tall blonde guy playing basketball with another boy, who looked like his brother. The tall man, Ziggy, noticed Jessica and immediately recognized her. She was the new girl who hung out with Sportacus lately. He didn't like her at all. He just looked at her angrily, but Jessica just waved to him and left after shooting the capsule to Sportacus' airship.

"Time out, Thomas. I need to do a phone call." Ziggy told his brother and went to his phone and dialled a number.

"Stingy? Hey. I saw her, she just sent a letter to Sportacus! We have to know what's going on."

* * *

At her apartment, Jessica video-chatted Lacey on Skype.

"Hey, Jess, what's up?" Lacey asked, but she wasn't hyper as always. In fact, she was concentrating at her phone.

"Um, great. May I ask what's going on with you?" Jessica asked concerned.

"Oh, yes, I totally forgot, I'm just busy with all those text messages from everyone and... anyway, I have the greatest news ever!" Lacey sounded like herself again.

"Really? What is it?" Jessica was eager to know.

"Ready for it?" Lacey asked and Jessica nodded.

"...I'm pregnant! Max and I are going to have a baby!" Lacey told her excitedly.

"Oh, oh my goodness, Lacey! This is so great! Congratulations." Jessica felt very happy for her cousin.

"Thank you, Jessica. And what about you?" Lacey curiously asked. Ever since Jessica started to date Sportacus she wanted to know almost every detail.

"Although we keep our relationship in secret, he invited me on a date tonight." Jessica proudly told her.

"That's really great! Where?" Lacey wanted to know.

"At his house, for dinner. You know, since he can't ask anyone else to watch Joshua." Jessica said.

"Ah, of course. Have you already thought what are you going to wear?" Lacey asked.

"Actually no, and I want to ask you about it." Jessica said and brought some optional outfits to show her – a white summer dress, a pink tank top and light blue skirt and a white top and black jeans.

"Well, the dress doesn't quite match for dinner, and I think that with the tank top and the skirt he will need sunglasses..." Lacey smirked.

"But the top and jeans are just classic. Wear them."

"Thanks Lacey, you're the best!"

"I know."

* * *

Before she went out to her date, Jessica organized some last things, such as spraying some perfume and check she has everything she needs in her purse. Leaving her apartment, she texted Lacey: _"On my way to his house, wish me luck! And don't text me or call me, my phone will be on Vibrate anyway."_

* * *

She arrived to Sportacus' house, and before she knocked on the door, she took a deep breath and thought _'You can do it, Jess. You love each other and you're going to have fun tonight.' _And then she knocked on the door.

Sportacus opened the door, and for the first Jessica saw his blonde hair. Well, she did see it when the first met, when Joshua played with his hat, but back then she didn't notice.

"Hi..." she smiled and felt herself blushing.

"H-Hi..." Sportacus could barely talk seeing the beautiful woman who stood in front of him.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She waved her hand in front of his face and laughed.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. Come in." he invited her in.

She walked in and smelled something really good and she saw two plates of spaghetti Bolognese on the dining table.

"I must say something – if you are cooking just like you are kissing – I might love you forever." She joked.

"Well, then all I have now is to hope." He laughed and the two sat to eat.

* * *

After dinner, they just sat there and talked.

"Now, may I know what happened to you when you opened the door and saw me?" Jessica asked.

"It's a little embarrassing, and it might be sound like a cliché, but I think your beauty just hypnotized me." He chuckled.

"It is a cliché, but at least you know it." She said when the two of them heard an annoying noise and Jessica realised it was her phone vibrating.

"Oh, excuse me for a second." She said and looked at her phone – 2 missed calls from her mother, 3 text messages from her brother Brian asking why she's not answering and one more text message from Lacey who just wants to know how the date is going.

"Is everything ok?" Sportacus asked.

"Yeah, just some notifications." She lied.

"Ok, then..." he said and became quiet, but Jessica had other plans. She stood up and went to his side of the table, sat on his lap and passionately kissed him.

"Remember when I said earlier that if you cook like you kiss, I will love you forever?" she asked and he nodded.

"So from this night on, I'm all yours." She laughed and the two kissed again.

* * *

In the next morning, Jessica almost fell off the bed and realised she was sleeping just on one side of it. Also, she didn't know how this is happened. She looked around and didn't see any familiar thing about the room. But when she realised she was wearing just her underwear and bra, all the events from last night came back to her. The dinner, the talk, and everything that came after and happened in the same bedroom. Luckily, she was alone in the room and her purse was right next to her on the floor. She took out her phone and saw the time was 9:15am. She immediately called Lacey.

"Hey, Lacey." She whispered.

"Hi, Jess. Why are you whispering? Oh, is he still sleeping next to you?" Lacey asked.

"Not exactly, but something like that..." she admitted.

"Wow, you two don't waste a moment, do you?" Lacey laughed when Jessica heard footsteps coming towards the room.

"Hang on a second." She whispered and hid the phone under the blanket. Then Sportacus quietly opened the door and he was topless. Jessica was almost hypnotized herself.

"Hey, you're up! I made breakfast, so you can come if you're hungry." He said.

"Alright, I'll be right there." She smiled and he left.

"I can't believe you actually stayed over!" came out of Jessica's phone.

"Me neither! And he cooks really amazing, so I need to get dressed now, bye!" Jessica quickly said and grabbed her top and jeans from the floor.

She quickly dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast, and saw Sportacus feeding Joshua. _'How perfect this man could be? Cooking, good looking, a father… he's literally great at everything!'_ she thought to herself.

"Good morning!" she greeted the father and son.

"Good morning. Joshua, look who's here!" Sportacus said to him, and Jessica took him from his father's arms.

"Yes, alright, I admit it, I missed you." She laughed.

The two ate their breakfast and had a nice conversation when after breakfast someone knocked on the door. Sportacus went to see who it was through the peephole and saw it was Pixel.

"Oh, god. It's Pixel, one of my friends. He can't see you here." Sportacus told her.

"Alright, so... I'll just take Joshua and stay with him in the bedroom." She quickly picked Joshua in her arms and ran to the bedroom with him. Sportacus opened the door to Pixel.

"Good morning Pixel. What can I do for you?" Sportacus smiled when he opened the door.

"We need to talk." Pixel said and let himself in.

"May I ask about what?"

"Yes, you may. It's about this new girl, Jessica." Pixel coldly replied.

"What about her?" Sportacus pretended to be confused.

"Everyone are pretty mad at you for hanging out with her." Pixel told him.

"And who's exactly everyone?" Sportacus asked.

"Me, Ziggy, Trixie, Stingy and even Mr. Meanswell!"

"Wait, what?" Sportacus was shocked.

"Yes! We just can't believe that you're going after another woman shortly after Stephanie's death and forgetting her!" Pixel shouted.

"First of all, I don't even know if Jessica is interested in me the way you guys think, but in the short time that I know her, I learned that she's very smart and kind and nice and a great friend and Joshua really loves her as if she was Stephanie!" he shouted at Pixel and those words made Jessica get closer to the door and listen to their conversation. "Secondly, I will never forget Stephanie and everything we've done for each other and she will always be the love of my life, but if I will date anyone soon it will be for the right reasons only! And it's not my fault that it is easier for me to move on, because now I need to be strong not just for me, but for Joshua too!" Sportacus done and was out of breath.

"Alright. I get you. I hope the others will get it too." Pixel simply said and left.

Sportacus went to his bedroom to tell Jessica that Pixel has left, but he almost knocked her out since she was still next to the door.

"Hey, he's go-" Sportacus said and was surprised to see her.

"Were you listening to us?" He asked.

"I couldn't help it..." she admitted.

"Come over here." He smiled and pulled her into a hug while she was holding Joshua.

"You know, when I got into this relationship I knew Stephanie will always be a part of it. But it didn't stop me from loving you, Joshua – and even her. And I love the combination of the four of us." Jessica said and kissed him.

"I know. I love the three of you very much." He smiled at her and kissed her back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It was the first day of school and all the LazyTown children and teens were excited. Everyone were ready for it with new clothes and new books, and everybody heard about the new junior high teacher, Ms. Mendler. They also heard that she's hanging a lot with the local hero and his son. For everyone it was still a rumour that they were dating, but nobody knew that the truth is – they are actually dating. Sportacus and Jessica are keeping denying it to everyone, but they wish they could finally tell them they're together.

* * *

Trixie was walking down the street to the grocery shop when she met there some parents of Jessica's future students.

"Oh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Stevens. How are you today?" she nicely asked.

"Oh, we're feeling great, now that the kids are back at school." Mrs. Stevens laughed.

"Yes, and actually they were happy too. You know, Michael is very excited about his new history teacher. Jessica I think is her name..." she continued and that made Trixie mad.

"Oh, right, I saw her! She looks amazing! You know, if I wasn't married, I'd- I'll shut up." Mr. Stevens said and then corrected himself when his wife frowned at him.

"Um, have you met her yet? The new teacher?" Mrs. Stevens asked Trixie.

"Uh... Yes, I did, she's actually my neighbour." Trixie faked a smile.

"Wow, that's really nice, then. Well, we'll see you later. Bye!" Mrs. Stevens said and left with her husband.

"Great, now everybody loves her!" she angrily mumbled.

* * *

At the LazyTown Junior High, Jessica was on her way to teach her first class.

She was pretty nervous, but didn't let it control her.

Before entering her class, she took a deep breath and told herself "You're going to be great. They will like you." And then opened the door.

When she entered the classroom all the students were quiet at once. She put her things on the desk and said "Good morning, class. I'm your new History teacher, Ms. Mendler."

She explained the students what she's going to teach them this year, how the tests will go, etc. until the bell rang and they all ran out for the break.

When the last of the students was out of the room, she picked up her phone and called Lacey.

"Hey, Jess. What's up?" Lacey asked.

"Everything's just great. I had my first lesson now." She told her cousin excitedly.

"Oh, that's great! And did it go?" Lacey asked.

"Good, they didn't fall asleep while I was explaining what they are going to study, which is nice." She laughed.

"Yes, it is nice. Now, tell me, how's your relationship with your 'blue knight'?" Lacey asked.

"Pretty well, I guess... We're actually thinking of... telling his friends about us being together." She hesitantly said.

"Well, then I wish you luck!"

"Thanks, I'll need it..."

* * *

When the first day of school was over, all of the kids and teens rushed to their homes. All that Jessica wanted to rush to was Sportacus' arms, but knew it can't be possible as long as they hide their relationship. So instead she just walked to him (and Joshua) and the two pretended to be just friends when people came around them.

"Hey, Sportacus." She greeted him. She wanted to greet Joshua too, but he was sleeping in his stroller.

"Hey, Jessica. How was your first day as a teacher here?" he asked.

"It was good. None of the students fell asleep when I talked." She said and laughed.

"'LazyTown' may be the name of the town, but nobody here is lazy!" he laughed as well.

"May I ask you to join me for lunch?" he whispered to her after he saw that no one was watching them. Then it was her turn to look around.

"Sure. I'd love that." She whispered back and walked beside him to his house.

* * *

After lunch, the two just sat in the backyard of the house and talked.

"You know, I told you a lot about myself and my life so far, but I haven't heard so much about yours." Sportacus told her as he took off his hat.

"Well... There's me. My younger brother, Brian, who's now a senior in high school. There are my parents, my dad who's an accountant, and my mother owns a big pastry shop. Oh, and you already kinda met my cousin Lacey." Jessica told him.

"Oh, yeah. How is she?" he asked.

"She's great. Her and her husband are finally about to have a baby." She smiled.

"Finally? How much time they tried to have one?" he asked.

"Ever since they got married two years ago."

"Well, that's nice. Are you happy for her?" he asked.

"Of course I am! Despite of her being my cousin, she's my best friend. I'm just 23, I'm not married, so I'm not exactly rushing to do so." She explained.

"And I just found another reason to love you more." He laughed and kissed her cheek.

"Really?" she sceptically asked. He just nodded and kissed her again.

"Ugh, I just wish we could not keep it on low profile. Just tell your friends and get over it." She told him and frowned.

"I know, me too... Well, we have to think how we do that, and when. Bessie told me that Mr. Meanswell, Stephanie's uncle is not mad at me like Pixel said. In fact, she told me that they said that if I'll be happy with anyone else they will be happy for me because it's important for the town's people that I will be happy too." He told her.

"Great. So there are at least two of your friends that we can tell them about us." She said and kissed his forehead and he pulled her into a hug.

_Ding-dong_, the doorbell rang.

Sportacus rushed to the door and looked through the peep-hole. It was Trixie. He rushed back to Jessica and told her to stay there until Trixie's gone.

"Hello, Trixie! What brings you here?" he said as he opened the door.

"Um, I really need to talk to you, if you're not busy or something." She said quite seriously.

"Um, no, no, of course. Come in."

The two sat in the living room.

"Well, Sportacus... I think you know what I'm going to talk to you about." Trixie said.

"I'm assuming that is about Jessica." He said and rolled his eyes a little.

"Yes, it is. And don't roll your eyes at me, I'm serious!" she told him.

"I've told you and the other guys already, I have NOTHING with her! We're just friends, that's all! Why are you keep bugging me with this?" he said annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Sportacus... It's just hard for us, you know? Stephanie was our best friend, your wife! We just can't see with another right now, it doesn't make sense to us. Please understand, when I heard that you were the first person she met, I immediately thought of Stephanie and the possibility that you will replace her with the new girl. And so does the others. She's nice and all, but we just can't stand that a new, young and mysterious woman is 'replacing' our friend." She told him.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked a little confused.

"I met Mr. and Mrs. Stevens this morning. They already heard about her teaching their children at school. They said that they already like her. Even Mr. Stevens almost got beaten by his wife by saying that 'she looks amazing'." She chuckled and Sportacus smiled. He couldn't blame Mr. Stevens saying that.

He was about to say something when he heard Joshua's little voice from the other room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, he woke up. I need to..." he said and stood up.

"Sure. I just said what I needed to. Just... think about it. Bye." Trixie said and left.

Sportacus went to Joshua's room and picked him up, then went to the back yard to Jessica.

"She's gone." He said and surprised her.

"Oh! Oh, thank goodness. I thought I will never get out of her." She groaned.

"How long do you think we will have to do it like that?" she asked and he came and hugged her from behind with one hand while he's holding Joshua.

"I hope not so long. We will find a way to them." He said.

"But when?!" she groaned again.

"I don't know. But you know, back there Trixie told that she met Mr. Stevens, and he said that you look amazing. I only smiled and thought how right he is!" he kissed her on the cheek and that made her smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The time passed by. It was already November, and Sportacus and Jessica made it through the months without telling anybody about their relationship.

Jessica also had been doing really great as a teacher. All her students got really good grades and they all loved her. From time to time she brought her guitar to her lessons when she felt they have studied too much and they were just singing and relaxing from the studies. She also gained popularity in the teachers' lounge. They all liked her – except for the teachers who taught her students last year, who were jealous that she was more successful than them.

But while her job went really well, she had to stay away from Sportacus while in public, and that killed both of them inside! They wished they could just scream it to everyone that they are together. But until that will happen, they usually meet at Sportacus' house.

It was November 25th, Thursday, and the weather was very windy that day. Jessica was on her way home like many others after school, when she saw some children running towards the soccer field. She got a little confused but then she saw they surrounded Sportacus, asking him to play with them.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I don't think it will be a good idea to play in a weather like this." He told them and they all got sad. He looked up and he noticed that Jessica was watching them.

"And also it will take time from making your homework and that will make your teacher mad, right, Ms. Mendler?" he stood up and looked at her. All the children turned around to see her looking at them. She only nodded and smiled, and all the children ran away to their homes. Both Sportacus and Jessica burst into laughter.

"That was a little mean, don't you think?" she asked.

"Maybe, but I was right, all the weathercasts points out that it will be a very rainy and stormy weekend. Which reminds me... I was wondering if you would like to spend this weekend with me and Joshua? I mean, tomorrow is your day-off, and there's nothing that you can do in such a weather." He said when suddenly they heard a thunder.

"Just let me rush to my place to bring some things before it will rain, and I will meet you there in 10 minutes." She said and rushed to her home.

"Ok, bye!" he shouted to her and went to his home.

* * *

It started to rain, so it took Jessica around 15 minutes to arrive to Sportacus' place. She rang the bell because she thought he might not hear her knocking because of the rain. At least she was smart enough to take an umbrella with her right before she left.

"Hey, come in." he opened the door and let her in.

"Thanks. Ugh, I just hate winter." She said as she closed her umbrella.

"So do I. I just don't like to stay in all day and do almost nothing. But for that I've got books and Joshua to enjoy my time inside. And of course you." He smiled and hugged her from behind.

"Wow, your hands are freezing!" he laughed.

"Oh, yeah, I know, I couldn't find my gloves." She said.

He spun her around, took her hand in his and kissed them.

"Ok, so how about you'll go and have a hot shower while I'll make us some tea?" he offered.

"Sure, I'd like that." She smiled, then took her bag with her thing and went to the bathroom.

Within 5 minutes she came back to the living room, wearing her onesie pyjama, to see Sportacus trying to calm Joshua.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked.

"The storm woke him up, but I can't calm him down." He explained.

"Ok, let the expert handle this." She laughed and he handed her Joshua his bottle. Within minutes he fell asleep in her arms.

"I can never thank enough for doing this!" Sportacus laughed and she smiled.

"But really, I think you will make a wonderful mother one day." He said, looking at the comfortable way that Joshua was held in her arms.

"Really?" Jessica's smile faded away when he said that.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not saying it to push you or something, I'm just pointing it out."

"Sure... Well, I think I'm going to put him to bed, because it's getting uncomfortable." She said and stood up.

"Jess, is everything ok? You seem a little down." Sportacus asked worried.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, I'm just a little tired, that's all." She said.

"Are you sure? It seems that something bothers you. You know you can tell me anything." He said.

"Yes. Of course I know." She smiled and left.

In Joshua's room she put him in his crib, then picked up her phone and dialled to Lacey.

"Hey, Jess!" Lacey was excited to hear her.

"Hi."

"Jess, is everything alright?" Lacey asked her cousin worried.

"Not really. You see, I'm at Sportacus' place now..." she began to say.

"Ah, the perfect way to spend such a rainy weekend. I'm sorry, go on." Lacey said.

"Anyway – Joshua woke up because of the thunders, and of course Sportacus' couldn't keep him calm, so I came to the rescue and only them he fell asleep." She continued.

"So what's the problem?" she asked.

"He said that one day I will make a wonderful mother. And that immediately reminded me what happened, you know, in my senior year in high school..." she said.

"What happened in your senior year in high school?" Sportacus said, standing at the door, surprising her.

"Uh-oh..." Lacey said over the phone and Jessica hung up.

"Were you listening to me?" she asked.

"Yes, but only for the last part. I was worried because you left a little bit longer than I thought it will take you to put him to bed. Now tell me, what happened back then. I want to know." He told her.

"I don't want to talk about it, ok?" she said with a little broken voice and walked out of the room but Sportacus caught her.

"No. Look, now that you're with me there's one thing you need to know – when something's bothering you, you have to share it to get it off your chest." He said.

"Ugh, fine! I'll tell you but only because I know you won't leave me alone for the whole weekend if I won't." she said and the two went to the living room. When they sat down she began to spill everything.

"So since the junior year until 6 months ago, I dated Derek, aka my jerk and idiot ex-boyfriend. We had pretty good time together, until one month for the senior year. It was the beginning of April, and he and I were... You know... And um... Later I found out that he got me pregnant. By accident, of course. And when he heard that I'm going to keep the baby with the help of my family, he broke up with me." She told him and the tears began to come.

"And... I was even thinking to postpone college. And then I was almost 2 months pregnant when a biker accidently hit the car when my mom and I were on our way to the doctor, and that's when I have found out that I miscarried because of this accident." She began to cry.

Sportacus was shocked. He couldn't imagine Stephanie miscarrying his baby. He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't imagine his life without Joshua. It was then when he pulled her into a big hug and rubbed her back.

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could relate to that, but I can't. Except for trying to have a baby, Stephanie and I never had this kind of problem." He told her. He felt really bad for her.

"How many times were you and Stephanie trying to have a baby?" she asked.

"Like 20 times, anytime we could. But again, I'm sorry for saying that, if I only knew-" he said but she cut him off.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, it's not your fault."

"And yet, I wish I could make it up to you." He said and kissed her head.

"Really? How?" she asked. He didn't know what answer.

'_You're really stupid, Sportacus.' _He thought, _'how you can do that? The only way to can make it up to her is having a baby with her or something, but that wouldn't happen. You know each other for like 4 months and you don't know if it will last forever.'_

"I don't know. But maybe I'll find a way." He finally said.

* * *

It was now almost around 10pm, and both Sportacus and Jessica were still in the living room, cuddling on the couch.

"Well, it's getting late and I'm tired, shouldn't we go to bed already?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I don't feel that tired, I have some more energy." He said.

"Really, so what do you want to do?" she asked.

"Well, there's this activity that I think both of us will like, since it happens in bed." He said, and that lit Jessica's eyes.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? 'Cause I have a feeling I will like this activity. Very much." She said and the two rushed to the bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Another month had passed. It was Christmas in three days, and Sportacus hoped that he could spend the holiday with him. But apparently, the universe had some other plans for him – Trixie and Stingy wanted to join him for the Christmas evening so he won't be alone (or won't try to start something with Jessica, according to his thoughts), so Jessica decided to go back to family for the holiday, but she promised to call him from there.

* * *

Jessica was kind of happy returning to her hometown to be with her family. Her aunt always made an amazing turkey for the feast, and her mother made the greatest desserts. It was also her chance to see Lacey again, who was now 5 months pregnant.

She finally arrived and knocked on the door. There was snow all around, so it was a little hard to stroll her suitcase.

"Jessica! It's so great to see you, my dear." Her father, Patrick, hugged her as she came in and helped her with her suitcase.

"Everyone – Jessica has arrived!" he called out.

The first one to rush and welcome her was her little brother, Brian.

"Jess! Ah, I missed you so much! It's great to have you home." He said and almost squeezed her.

"I missed you too, Brian! Now let me go!" she said and pushed him away.

"Cousin Jessica is here?" she heard a little voice coming from the living room. She immediately recognised it as her youngest cousin, Cody, who was 6 years old, and she was his favourite cousin out of everyone.

"Hey, Cody! Merry Christmas!" she came and the two hugged.

"Cousin Jessica, did you know that I missed very very very much?!" he asked, and made her laugh.

"Well, now I know!" she giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"And I also got you a Christmas present that I'm sure you're going to like!" he told her excited. She turned her head to her aunt and uncle who sat nearby as to question if that's true. They nodded and smiled, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, hey, has Lacey and Max came yet?" she asked her father when the doorbell rang and he went to open the door.

"Why didn't you just talk about 1 million dollars?" he said as he let the new guests in. That's right, they were Lacey and Max.

"Hey, guys!" she stood up and went to greet them.

She hugged Max, and then she hugged Lacey, but felt something weird between them. When they pulled back she saw that Lacey has a little baby bump.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, Lacey, this is amazing!" Jessica excitedly said.

"I know, right?" Lacey laughed and the two hugged once more.

"You know, I'm expecting to see you having one soon, with Sportacus." Lacey whispered to her ear. Jessica's eyes grew wider and she pulled back.

"Lacey – don't push it." Jessica told her in an angry tone.

* * *

The dinner went between great and not so great. Sure, the food was tasty and everything, but the main issues in the conversation around the table went from Lacey and Max having a baby to Jessica keeping her relationship with Sportacus in secret. And that _literally_ annoyed her, that in some point she just left to the living room.

She picked up her phone and dialled to Sportacus' home.

He was having a pretty nice time with Stingy and Trixie until the house phone rang. And he knew it was Jessica.

"Um, excuse me for a second..." he nervously said, picked up the phone and went to his bedroom.

"I wonder who that might be..." Trixie said suspiciously to her husband.

"Hey, Jess... How are you?" he asked.

"Not so bad. I mean, I like being with my family, don't get me wrong about it, but they just don't stop talking about us! 'How about you…', 'Wait, but do you…', 'Maybe you shouldn't...', UGH! Just shut up, that's none of your business!" she angrily told him.

"Really? That's all they talk about?" he asked.

"Yes, and about Lacey and Max having a baby. Lacey has this cute little baby bump!" she told him excitedly.

"That's really great." He smiled.

"I miss you, you know?" she said.

"Yes, I miss you too. I like hanging out with Trixie and Stingy, but I can't wait for you to be home. I got a Christmas present for you." He told her.

"Wow, really? I can't wait to have it. You know, apparently, my 6 years old cousin got me a present too." She told him.

"Really? Then I hope you won't like it more than mine." He said.

"No way, I will always like it, whatever it is." She sarcastically said.

"Well, I think I'll go now, I don't want them to suspect me. So, goodbye. Kisses." he told her and hung up.

Jessica kept to sit in the living room until Lacey came.

"Hey, Jess?" she asked and looked concerned.

"Oh, hey..." Jessica looked up.

"I'm sorry I didn't came earlier, it's just that everyone were done eating now." She explained.

"No, that's ok."

"So, what's up?" Lacey asked.

"Annoying family members, that's it." Jessica said with an annoying look on her face.

"Oh, right..." Lacey said in a moment of realization.

"Anyway, I talked to Sportacus over the phone now." She told her cousin.

"And?"

"He misses me and he got a Christmas present for me when I'm back." She said with a smile.

"Aww, that's so sweet! But I bet you it can't beat whatever Cody gave you." Lacey said.

"I know, I told him that!" she said and the two laughed.

* * *

Christmas morning.

It was time to open the presents. Both Brian and Jessica liked to open the presents like they did when they were little, except that today they like to sleep in late and around 11:30am they opened their presents.

Jessica found out what Cody brought her – it was a big, white teddy bear. There was a note attached to it: "To the best cousin in the world, from Cody."

Jessica laughed a bit since Cody just learned to write and his handwrite is still unclear.

She also got a gorgeous dress from Lacey. "If I can't enjoy this dress, so at least you can." She read in the card. It was a dress that they both put an eye on for a long time, but then Lacey got pregnant and it was a little pointless to buy it. Now she laughed even more

* * *

She returned to LazyTown around the evening that day. In one hand she held her suitcase and in the other she held the bear. There were many children and families playing in the snow, but she didn't see Sportacus and Joshua there. So she decided to keep on towards her building.

"Hello, Ms. Mendler! How was your Christmas?" a 14 years old girl named Melissa asked her.

"It was very fun, thank you, Melissa." She smiled at her student.

"Hey, Ms. Mendler, what is it with the bear?" another student named Danny asked.

"Oh, this? I got it from my cousin for Christmas." She simply said.

"What? How old is your cousin, like, 5 years old?" Danny teased.

"No, he's actually 6 years old." Jessica replied and left. She could hear Danny laughing about it, but she didn't care. She loved the teddy bear.

Arriving quietly to the building and her apartment, she left the suitcase next to the door and went to put the teddy bear in her bedroom when she saw something on her coffee table.

"What is that?"

She leaned closer and saw it was a small jewellery box. She read the attached note. It only said "Merry Christmas! I hope you will like it. Love, Sportacus."

Now all she could think now was how he got into her apartment. But when she opened the box she didn't care anymore. Inside there was a gold pendant with diamonds, with the word "Love".

"I love you too, Sportacus." She smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Few more days passed, the New Year's Eve came. Sportacus invited Jessica over for the night. Now he didn't care if his friends will find out. In fact, he was planning to tell them today.

He was walking down the street when he met Mariah, Pixel's girlfriend.

"Good morning, Mariah!" he greeted her.

"Oh, good morning, Sportacus! Where are you heading to?" she asked.

"To the grocery store, I need to get some things for tonight..." he told her.

"Really? I'm just coming from there!" she laughed.

"But wait, for tonight? You mean, you have a date for tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, I do. In fact, you all know her." He simply said.

"Wait a minute... Is it Jessica?"

"Yes." He sighed, "It is Jessica, but please don't tell the others, I want to them myself." He told her.

"No, of course I won't, I get it. But I just to say that I kinda knew that you guys are together..." she told him.

"Oh, you did?" he asked confused.

"Yes, I mean, you two were really close that I started to suspect. But you guys make a really cute couple, though. I don't care what the others will think, I'm really happy for you two." She smiled.

"Thank you Mariah. I just need to hope that everyone will understand like you."

* * *

At home, around 9pm, Jessica arrived.

Sportacus hadn't seen her after Christmas, but he managed to invite her over the phone for the New Year's Eve. He had prepared a romantic dinner for the night, and hoped to finally find a way with her about how tell his friends they are together. But there was something that ruined the night. At least for him.

"Oh god, you have to teach me how to cook like this! This is just too great!" she told him and laughed.

"Yes, we should do it one time..." he quietly said.

"Sportacus, is everything alright? You seem a little down." She asked worried.

"Oh? No, no, I'm fine." He tried his best to smile.

"Sportacus." She glared at him, knowing he's lying.

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you. I received a letter from Stephanie's parents." He told her.

"And why is disturbing you so much?" she asked. He sighed.

"Because they wrote in it that they didn't want anything to do with me or with Joshua." He sadly told her. He could definitely see the shock on her face.

"They what?!" she was making clear she was hearing right, and he nodded.

"Oh my god, how could they do that? So now what, Joshua won't have any grandparents?" she said as she remembered that Sportacus told her once that both of his parents died long ago.

"I really don't know. I never thought they would something like that." He said and she came and sat next to him.

"You know what? I think I got a new resolution for the new year." She told him.

"Really? What is it?" he asked.

"To make you and Joshua the happiest I can." She smiled and kissed him.

"I'm 100% sure it'll work." He smiled and kissed her once again.

"How about we'll forget about everything and get ready for midnight?" she suggested and simply nodded.

* * *

On another part of the town, the old LazyTown gang (plus Mariah) were having their own New Year's party. And to Mariah's unfortunate, there were a lot of alcoholic drinks. And as much as she was good at keeping secrets – Sportacus' secret wasn't safe with her tonight.

The five of them were REALLY drunk, and neither of them thought about the results of this.

"Hey, what do you think Sportacus is doing now?" Trixie asked.

"He's probably alone with Joshua. Too bad we didn't insist on inviting him when he said no." Ziggy said.

"I actually met him today, on my way home from the grocery store." Mariah said.

"Oh, really? You didn't tell that." Pixel told her.

"Well, anyway, he told me that he's actually going to spend the night with Jessica." Mariah blurted out.

All the friends looked at her at once. They might be drunk, but their hearing wasn't damaged.

"Oh, yeah, and he also wanted me not to tell you guys, since he wanted to tell you himself..." she added.

"Oh, he's getting a very serious talk tomorrow!" Trixie said angrily.

* * *

It was almost time for midnight's kiss, and Sportacus and waited with the TV turned on and Sportacus' watch set up for 10 seconds for midnight.

He began to count.

"10..."

And she continued.

"9..."

"8..."

"7…"

"6..."

"5..."

"4..."

"3..."

"2…"

And in 1 they kissed.

"Happy New Year, Sportacus."

"Happy New Year, Jessica."

* * *

January 1st.

Jessica spent the (wild) night at Sportacus' house, and even got to wake up to a breakfast in bed.

"Hey, good morning." Sportacus entered the bedroom with a tray full of food.

"Good morning – and happy new year." Jessica added.

Sportacus sat next to her on the bed and put the tray down.

"I thought you'd like to spend a little more time in bed, so I thought of everything and brought your breakfast to bed." He told her with a smile.

"Well, that's very thoughtful. You just combined my two favourite things – rest in bed and eat." She laughed and he laughed too.

While they were eating, Sportacus began to talk.

"I really need to thank you for listening to me last night. I had nobody to share it with until that night." He told her, taking a bite from his sandwich.

"That's really nothing. That's one of the reason why you need me, you can share with me things that you can't tell anybody else. And speaking of sharing, remind me, what was that about Mariah you told me yesterday?" she asked.

"I met her yesterday when I went to the grocery store. She asked what I'm doing for the New Year's Eve and I told her I was going to spend the night with you. She just said that she's very happy for us and she won't tell anybody until we tell them." He explained.

"I just hope for Mariah she did keep it a secret. We should find a time and invite them all and actually discuss about it." She told him and he nodded in agreement.

* * *

Later that morning, around 11:30am, Jessica and Sportacus were playing with Joshua in the living room. Also, they were helping him with how to stand up and walk, because every time that he fell down he cried.

"Yay, you made it!" Jessica cheered when Joshua walked from Sportacus to her without falling.

"Yes, he finally did." Sportacus smiled. He still couldn't believe that he found a new partner for life so soon. And she was perfect.

Suddenly, their beautiful moment was cut by an aggressive door-knocking. The two of them began to worry.

"Stay right here." He whispered and went to see through the peep-hole who was it. And he saw Pixel and the gang, but without Mariah.

"Oh, it's just my friends... And if they're all here, then something must be wrong." He turned to her. She stood up and tried to be prepared for what is about to come. But she couldn't predict what will happen next.

Sportacus took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hello, gu-" he began to say but his friends stormed in.

"Hello Sportacus. So I see your little girlfriend is here." Pixel said and glared at Jessica, and that's when she became scared.

"Yes. Alright, Jessica and I are dating. We-" Sportacus said but got interrupted again.

"I knew it! I knew you were dating this little..." Trixie said angrily and from that moment on, Sportacus and his friends began to fight. Now Jessica was very scared. They all shouted, screamed and yelled, and she couldn't bare it. They were also calling her names. Before she let her tears out, she took her bag from the hanger next to the door and left, and nobody noticed.

When she was close enough to her building, she began to cry her heart out.

* * *

Around the evening, after he and his friends had said everything to each other, Sportacus tried to call Jessica over and over and over.

"_Hey, this is Jess! Sorry I can't answer right now, but just leave your message and I'll call you back!"_

Sportacus could memorize her machine message from all the tries.

Making him losing his concentration, Joshua grabbed his pants, trying to keep on balance and stand up. Sportacus smiled at his little boy and picked him up in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Josh, but it seems that we won't hear from mommy Jessica anytime soon."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was now April, and there was no sign from Jessica. Everyone in town now heard about her and Sportacus. People barely saw her outside, except for going to school. She kept on smiling to her students but she felt broken inside. All these months and she didn't answer Sportacus' calls. She wanted to be with him, yet get away from him.

This month the weather was very fickle. One day it can be super hot, and the next one can be stormy. And it was very stormy on the day when Sportacus decided to go to Jessica's apartment and finally talk to her.

He dressed Joshua warm enough, and went with him in the cold weather to Jessica, when they met on their way Gladys, Jessica's old neighbour, and her little dog, Charm.

"Good afternoon, Gladys." He greeted her.

"Oh, good afternoon, Sportacus! It's good to see you." She smiled at him. She held a grocery bag in one hand and held Charm in the other.

"This is the weirdest spring we ever had, don't you think?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes, it is! It's hard to take Charm for a walk, whether it's too hot or it's raining." She laughed.

"But where are you and Joshua heading to in such a bad weather?" she asked.

"Oh, um, we're on our way to your building. To meet Jessica." He said.

"To Jessica? Did she finally returned your calls?" she asked surprised.

"No, but I'm going to talk to her face to face and see how is she." He explained.

"Well, I will wish you luck." She said. The two arrived to the building, and Gladys let Charm to walk on the floor.

"Oh, and don't forget to tell her that I will still wait for her in our Fridays meeting for coffee, if she wants to." She added before they went to their separate ways. Sportacus couldn't help but smile at the old lady. Everyone loved Gladys and Charm. They were always happy and nice to everyone, and like him, she didn't lose her hope that Jessica will finally come out of her door.

He made it to her apartment at the second floor. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer from the other side. He tried few times more when he heard a big thunder from outside. At last, he just tried to open the door and to his surprised it was actually unlocked.

"Jessica?" he entered.

She was sitting in her warm onesie pyjama, watching TV, and her Literature material for students was all around the living room. She decided to turn around, although she didn't want even to look at him.

"What are you doing here?" she turned around and stood up.

"I- Well, we wanted to check on you. People are really worried about you. Especially me. And, well, Gladys and Charm." He told her.

"I'm fine, now go away."

"No, you're not fine. Last time I saw you, you left my house hurt and terrified. I tried to contact you and check on you and how you feel, and maybe sort the things out. I barely talked to my friends since then. Mariah came and apologised for everything and explained to me that she was very drunk that she blurted it out. But she didn't mean it, and I forgive her." Sportacus said.

Jessica looked at him for a while and then sighed.

"I don't think I'm ready to be with again. I need more time." She told him.

"I get it. But I'm here to talk to you, listen to you, and do everything you need so we can sort everything. Please, just listen..." he wanted to continue, but then the power was out because of the storms.

"Well, it seems that now I'm stuck here until this will be fixed." He said, and Joshua began to cry in his stroller because of the sudden dark and the thunders outside. Jessica tried to ignore him, but couldn't help it and picked him in her arms.

"So is this the first step?" Sportacus asked.

"No, but I'm not that heartless now." She said as she rocked Joshua in her arms when her phone rang. She saw Lacey's name on the screen.

"Hey, Lacey..."

"Hi, Jess. I was just calling to see how you are." Lacey said.

"Let's just it could've been better." She said to Lacey and turned to Sportacus.

"Why? What happened?" Lacey asked worried.

"Sportacus is here. And we're stuck together here because of the storm." She told Lacey, still looking at Sportacus.

"Look, I know that you're upset, but maybe it was destiny that put you together now. I say, why don't you try to solve your problems? You were perfect together, it will be too bad if you will lost each other for such a stupid thing." Lacey told her.

"Fine! Now, bye!" Jessica said annoyed, and hung up on her.

"Well, what did Lacey say?" Sportacus asked.

"The same thing you said, but alright, I'll give it a try." She told him and sat down on the couch, and he sat next to her.

They talked for hours, in which mostly Jessica didn't want to talk and was mad, but neither of them knew why she was mad or at who.

Eventually, the night came down, and the weather got worse. Joshua was peacefully asleep in his stroller, but Jessica didn't quite know what to do with Sportacus, but it seems that her feelings got over her will, because the two ended up in her bed.

* * *

The morning came by, and Sportacus noticed that weather got a lot better. Jessica was still asleep and so was Joshua, and Sportacus decided to leave before she wakes up. He didn't know what feel after yesterday, or what she will say to him when she wakes up. So he got dressed and was about to leave, but not before he left her a note on the coffee table in the living room.

She woke up around an hour later to find out that she was alone. She also felt very sick and rushed to the bathroom to throw up. She didn't know what happened but then remembered last night's events. And then it hit her, why she was sick. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. When she went to the kitchen, she saw Sportacus' note.

"_Thank you for letting me in last night. I missed you very much."_

Jessica smiled at the note and picked up her phone. Obviously, she called Lacey.

"Hey, Lacey? I think I've found a new reason to get back with Sportacus."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was already May, just few days for the end of the school year, yet Sportacus hadn't heard from Jessica since that day last month. He just hoped that she won't be mad at him, and he guessed that she's just busy with the last week of school. But the truth is that she went back to her hometown for her brother's graduation and Lacey's baby shower, which happened a couple of days before Brian's graduation.

A day before she left, Jessica wanted to do a pregnancy test at home, but that wasn't enough for her mother, Gabriella, because she wanted her to do the test at the doctor, and Jessica, having no choice, agreed.

After giving the doctor the samples she needed to, her and her mother headed to Lacey and Max's home for the baby shower. She met some old friends and family, but none of them except for Lacey and Gabriella knew that she might be pregnant.

"Hey, Jess! I missed so much!" Lacey came over and hugged her tight.

"I missed you too, and look at you, how big you are!" Jessica laughed and caressed Lacey's big belly.

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe it's almost over. It was hard, but kinda fun." Lacey smiled, and the two looked at each other at once when they felt something.

"Oh my god, they just kicked!" Jessica said excitedly.

"You know, Max was driving me crazy every time they kicked and moved. He was pressing his head to my belly to feel them and wouldn't let go for like an hour!" Lacey told her.

"So do you have any names yet?" Jessica asked and took another sip of her drink.

"Yes, I chose Thomas and Max chose Jerry. Especially because he thought it will be funny if when they'll get into trouble we'll call them 'Tom, Jerry, come over here!', ugh." Lacey told her and rolled her eyes.

"I just love your husband's sense of humour." Jessica smiled.

"But wait, let's talk about you, does Sportacus know about... you know?" Lacey whispered.

"No, I'm waiting for the results to come back, and if it's really positive I will talk to him. But gosh, I really missed him, you have no idea how great it felt to be with him again that night." Jessica told her.

"Well, Jess, it's obvious that you two were made for each other, and I know you got hurt, but you didn't have to let it out on him. And now you're going to have a baby with him, and that's a great opportunity to renew your relationship with him." Lacey told her.

"You're right. Oh god, I can't believe that I'm going to have such a big belly like you in a few months." Jessica said in a moment of realization.

"Well, you don't know if you'll be having twins like me, so who knows?" Lacey said and the two headed to back to the living room.

* * *

Two days later was Brian graduation day. After the formal ceremony in his high school, Patrick decided that he's doing a BBQ party and invited the whole family, and of course Brian's girlfriend, Alicia.

Jessica sat in the backyard like everyone, waited for some food to come and was deep in her thoughts when Lacey and Max sat next to her and interrupted her.

"Jessica?"

She looked up and saw the two sitting next to her.

"Oh, hi Tom, hi Jerry." She teased them.

"How are you doing?" Lacey asked.

"Nervous. The doctor said that my results should arrived two to five days later, and now that's two days later and I don't know what to do if it comes today." Jessica told them and Lacey pulled her into a hug.

"Look, whatever will be, you should remember that we're all here for you. And also, Sportacus is crazy about you, I'm sure he will be happy when he'll hear about this." Max told her.

"Yes, and also remember Joshua, now he won't be an only child, and that will make him happy." Lacey added.

"I don't think he knows what it means yet." Jessica said.

"Jess, honey, would you help me get some drinks?" her mother asked.

"Sure." Jessica said and left with her mother.

The two went to the kitchen inside when Jessica saw the mail on the table.

"Um, mom?" she asked and sat by the table.

"What, sweetie?"

"Did you noticed that my results came in the mail today?"

"No! I didn't!" Gabriella said and quickly sat next to her daughter.

Jessica held tight the letter. She wasn't shaking or something, because she kind of knew the result, and yet she was scared.

She slowly opened the envelope and unfolded the paper with her results. Then she felt such a big relief – it was positive.

Both daughter and mother began to cry of happiness.

"Oh my god…" was all Jessica could say.

"Ohhh, I can't believe it, my baby is going to have a baby!" Gabriella said and hugged her daughter tight.

"Hey, mom." Brian said as he entered.

"Dad said that you two went back in to bring more drinks." He continued.

"Brian, sit down, your sister has great news." Gabriella ordered her son.

"O... K..."

Jessica took a deep breath and then told him: "Well, you're going to be an uncle."

"Wait, what?" Brian asked confused.

"Brian, I'm pregnant."

He was completely shocked.

"Oh my god. OH MY GOD! You really are pregnant?" he asked in disbelief. Jessica just nodded, enjoying his reaction.

"OH MY GOD! I'm going to be an uncle! And trust me, I'm gonna be the coolest uncle that the world has known." He told her.

"Oh, I'm sure of it." She said and he hugged her.

"Now, come on kids, let's get some drinks to our thirsty guests." Gabriella told her children.

When they came out with more bottles and glasses, Patrick, Jessica and Brian's father called them.

"You're just on time, I was going to raise a toast for Brian." He said.

"Well, we all gathered here today to celebrate Brian's graduation from high school, and may he continue this way in college, like his sister, Jessica."

"And speaking of my sister," Brian took it from there, "I want to raise a toast for Jessica, who's going to be a mother in a few months, which will make me an uncle." He smiled at his sister and everyone cheered. Instead of saying anything she just hugged him tight.

"Oh my god, Jess, I'm so happy for you!" Lacey came and hugged her.

"Congratulations, Jessica. You're going to be great." Max said and hugged her too.

"Thank you, guys."

* * *

A week Jessica went back to her home in LazyTown. She called Sportacus and told him that she needed to talk to him. Without hesitation, he left Joshua with Bessie and Milford Meanswell and took off to Jessica's place.

When he arrived he knocked on the door, and Jessica immediately opened it for him.

"Hi." He said when he entered.

"Hey... How come Joshua isn't with you?" Jessica wondered.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Meanswell are watching him. You said that you wanted to talk to me so I thought that it would be better like this. Where have you been in the past month?" He told her and asked.

"Mostly busy with my classes of the end of the year, but last week I want back to my hometown, for Lacey's baby shower and Brian's graduation." She told him.

"Oh, that's sounds great." He said with a smile.

"Well, why don't we sit down?" she suggested and they both when to the couch.

"Well, what were you needed to tell me?" he asked.

"Ok... Um... Do you remember that night, back in April?" she asked.

"Uh, yes..."

"So the day after I felt sick, and when I went to my parents, my mother insisted that I will go and do a test at the doctor, and the result came two days later... Well, what I'm trying to say is that – I'm pregnant." She told him.

"Y-You are pregnant..?" he stood up and she stood after him.

"Yes."

"Oh my god..." he took off his hat.

"You're pregnant... We're going to have a baby..." he began to cry and Jessica saw a smile on his face.

"I really don't know what to say." He came closer and took her hands in his.

"No, wait, I do know what to say. I love you so much, and thank you for telling me this great news." He told her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"You are one of the greatest things that ever happened to me." He told her.

"So is that mean we're going to go through it together?" she asked.

"More than you think. I'm not going to let you lift a finger so you can rest as long as you want." He laughed and she laughed too.

"Well, you only have to promise me one thing – continue to cook great like you know because the baby will need it." She joked.

"I promise."

"I love you with all my heart, Sportacus."

"I waited to hear these words from you for the past five months – and now it feels so great to hear them." He said and they kissed once more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ever since Jessica told Sportacus the good news, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He came every day to her apartment (most of the times with Joshua) to take care of her and to decide when and how they will move all of her stuff to his house.

But when Stephanie's death anniversary drew closer, he began to think of it again. Suddenly the time passed so fast, and only now he began to realise that Stephanie's gone. Sure, he was the happiest with Jessica, yet he begins to miss Stephanie, like he did for the first two months after her death, before he and Jessica got together.

The day of her death kept rolling in his mind for the past week, as a nightmare.

He remembered everything.

* * *

_It was a normal summer day in LazyTown. Stephanie, Sportacus and their 6-months-old son, Joshua, were having breakfast when Stephanie said she'll be out of town today._

"_Are you sure that's ok with you?" she asked._

"_Yes, of course it is. You deserve a day off, right? Joshua and I will be fine." He told her and smiled, and she smiled back._

"_Alright. Just call me if you need anything." She said and he nodded._

_It was less than an hour since Stephanie left the house, she called to Sportacus' phone. Sportacus wondered what she needed, but picked it up._

"_Hey, honey, what do you need?" he asked._

"_Excuse me, am I talking to Mr, um, Sportacus?" asked the man on the other side._

"_Y-Yes. Who are you?" Sportacus asked. He began to worry._

"_I'm sorry, but your wife got into a horrible accident. We're driving her to the Dance Ville hospital." The paramedic told him._

_Sportacus began to freak out. He hung up the phone, dropped Joshua at Stingy and Trixie, explained them what happened, and drove his airship towards Dance Ville._

_When he got there, the doctors said that she was taken into a surgery, to see if she can be saved._

_After around 3 hours later, Stephanie moved to another room, and Sportacus could finally see her._

"_Can I see her now?" he asked one of the doctors._

"_Yes, you can. But unfortunately I have to tell you that she might not survive. We did our best, and it seems that she's trying to hold on, but she won't survive long." The doctor explained._

"_I see..." Sportacus said, and the doctors could see the sadness in his eyes._

_He entered the room and he saw Stephanie just lying there, covered with bandage around her and was on a respirator._

_So many fears was coming to his mind. How he will get along with Joshua all by himself? He's less than 1-year-old! Will he ever get to love again anybody like he loved her? Will he find anyone to love him like Stephanie did? Will anyone want him as a single parent? Will he ever get over her death?_

_He took a deep breath and sat next to her bed._

_He took her hand in his and began to talk to her, hopeful that she will hear him and wake up._

"_Stephanie... Please don't go. Please don't leave me alone."_

_He began to cry._

"_I need you. Joshua needs you. We both love you so much. We both need you. Please... Don't leave us. I love you."_

_A loud long beep was sound in the room then. Sportacus fell from his chair to his knees and cried more._

_Doctors came into the room, and couldn't ignore the man._

"_If there's any last word you want to say to her, that's your time." One of them said._

_Sportacus stood back on his feet, took off her oxygen mask and kissed her on the lips for the last time._

"_I love you, Stephanie."_

* * *

Now, the day has come, and all of Sportacus and Stephanie's friends gathered at his house. Jessica asked Sportacus if she can come and support him even that it would be "dangerous" for her since Trixie, Stingy, Ziggy and Pixel will be there. He hesitated a bit but agreed at last.

Except for them, there were also Bessie and Milford Meanswell, and also some other friends such as Mr. and Mrs. Stevens. They shared happy memories of Stephanie and laughed, until the conversation turned to be about Jessica.

"You know, I really think that Stephanie matched you more than this Jessica..." Trixie commented.

"Excuse me?" Sportacus turned to her.

"Yeah, I mean, Stephanie was smarter, more sophisticated, more mature and way more beautiful than her!" she said taking another sip from her juice.

"Wait, are you saying she's nothing of those things?" Sportacus asked a little bit shocked.

"Mmm-hmm. I still can't understand how you fell for her in an instant. I mean, this girl, Jessica, is an absolute-" Trixie wanted to say the B-word, but was cut off.

"A what?" Jessica asked as she entered.

Trixie and her friends' couldn't believe their eyes! They thought they separated them for good. Sportacus wanted to laugh. It was kind of a revenge.

"What is she doing here?" Pixel asked.

"Yeah, who invited her?" Trixie asked in disgust.

"Um, my boyfriend agreed me to come over and support him. So that's basically why I'm here, yeah." She told them in a sarcastic tone.

"Wait, your boyfriend?!" Trixie was still shocked.

"Yes, we're back together." Jessica said proudly as Sportacus wrapped his arm around her waist.

"But... But..." Trixie didn't understand what was going on and so were her husband and friends.

"But what? Trixie, guys, just accept this! We're in love with each other, and yet she knows that I still miss Stephanie and it doesn't bother her and she accepts that, and Joshua loves her as if she was his own mother, and-and, we're even going to have a baby together!" he angrily told them all.

Everyone were looking at them in shock, and Jessica lowered her head so they won't see her blushing and smiling about the last thing he said.

"So if you guys don't like it, you can leave. The door is right over there." He told them directly.

"Fine, we'll go!" Trixie stood up and went to the door, her friends following there. But only Mariah stayed in her sit.

"Mariah? Aren't you coming?" Pixel frowned at his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Pixel, but Jessica is my friend." Mariah apologised. Jessica smiled at her and Mariah smiled back

The others just turned and left.

There was now silence at the living room. Nobody knew how to react or what to say until Mrs. Stevens spoke up.

"Jessica, dear, you shouldn't be standing, come on, sit down." Mrs. Stevens told her.

"Oh, no, that's ok..." she said but Mrs. Stevens insisted and pulled her down. Jessica and Sportacus looked at each other in disbelief. They couldn't believe that the others had accepted their news.

So the whole afternoon they kept telling stories about Stephanie, and suddenly she felt like she known her for years and been her friend. She loved the stories and she even related to some of them. She actually thought that if she was still alive and with Sportacus, they could actually be really good friends.

Sportacus was also happy. He was really excited to see her so interested in Stephanie's stories from the other LazyTowners, and even Milford and Bessie congratulated them for the pregnancy.

"Oh, wait, does that mean you won't teach next year?" Mrs. Stevens asked her.

"Oh, um, I haven't talked to the principal yet, but I think I'll still be there for like 3 or 4 months before I'll go for a maternity leave." Jessica said.

"That's really great to hear, our children just love you!" Mrs. Stevens added.

"What about you, Sportacus? How do you feel about this?" Mr. Stevens asked.

"I couldn't be happier." Sportacus simply said and smiled at Jessica, which made her blush a little.

* * *

In the evening, after all the guests left, Sportacus and Jessica left alone.

"It was actually pretty nice today." Jessica said and took a sip from her cup of tea Sportacus made for her.

"It really was. At least now everybody knows that we're back together and... _Sigh_ going to have a baby." He said.

"Yeah. You know, I really like that you're coming over to take care of me. I mean, besides that, the company is just nice. Oh, that reminds me, I really need to start packing and-" She was about to finish but Sportacus cut her.

"Look, um, about that... I don't think that now I'm mentally ready for you to move in." he told her.

"Oh..."

"I'm sorry, but it's just that only now I'm letting Stephanie's death to sink in. But as soon as I'll feel ready, you'll move in."

"No, of course. I understand and I respect it." She said but felt a little disappointed.

"Um, I think I'll go home now." She said and jumped from the bar chair she sat on, next to the counter. Sportacus could see that she got a little hurt from the last decision.

"Wait, I'll walk you home." He said and hurried before she opened the door.

"Really, that's not necessary..." she told him and wanted to open the door but he held her in his arms.

"Hey, you're my woman and you're also having my baby and I love you. If something will happen to you on the way I will not forgive myself." He told her seriously and kissed her.

Eventually, she gave up.

"I hate you when you say things like that. Alright, let's go." She said and made him laugh.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was now July, and Sportacus seemed as he was trying to avoid any contact with Jessica. He wanted to be mostly alone, and it began to hurt her too. She only saw him when he asked her to watch Joshua since he had "other things to do" – but actually, he went to visit Stephanie's grave in the cemetery. She understood he needed to do it and give him some time, but it started to annoy her a little.

And watching Joshua wasn't easy all the time. Sure, it was a good practice for her, but not when he's trying to start talking.

She was strolling with him in the LazyTown park, when she heard him mumbling something. She stopped and bent down in front of him, trying to listen.

"M... M..." he tried to say, and Jessica carefully listened.

Finally, he managed to say his first word – "Mama".

He said it a couple more times as he tried to reach to Jessica's face with his little hand.

"Oh, dear god, no! That's not good, he's going to kill me!" Jessica cried.

"Who's going to kill you?" she heard a voice from behind. She then raised her head and her eyes grew wide.

"Mom?! What are you doing here?" Jessica asked surprised.

"Can't I take a vacation this summer, too? I left my shop in the hands of my assistant manager, and I'm going to stay here for a week in the LazyTown Hotel and be with you a little." Gabriella, her mother, explained.

"That would be really great." Jessica smiled.

"And I'm guessing this little guy is Joshua." Gabriella bent down to see him as Joshua grabbed her finger.

"Yes, and now he called me 'Mama' and I don't think that Sportacus is going to like it." Jessica told her and bit her bottom lip.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because Stephanie's death is affecting him now and he's avoiding me because of that, and-" Jessica was almost out of breath when Gabriella cut her off.

"So what? Technically, you're the woman who's raising him, not Stephanie. It is only natural for him to call you that. He doesn't know anything else." Gabriella told her.

"You're right, maybe I'm just freaking out." Jessica sighed and the three went toward the hotel.

* * *

After Gabriella settled her suitcases in the hotel room, she went back to Jessica and Joshua.

"So tell me, do you have any big plans for this week?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know if it's big enough, but... I have my first ultrasound check tomorrow." Jessica smiled.

"Oh, that's great, honey! Does Sportacus comes with you?" Gabriella asked.

"Mom, don't you remember what I told you earlier? He's trying to avoid me lately! How can I tell him that? I only see him when he asks me to watch Joshua." Jessica told her, and she sounded pretty mad.

"Well, then how about I'll come with you?" Gabriella suggested.

"I'd love that, mom. I really need the support more than ever." Jessica said.

"You're welcome, honey." Gabriella smiled and hugged her.

* * *

Around 6:30pm, Jessica went to return Joshua to Sportacus, and Gabriella joined her.

She knocked on the door until he answered.

"Hey..." She whispered, trying not to wake up Joshua, who fell asleep in his stroller.

"Hi." Sportacus smiled.

"Um, come in." he opened the door wider and let the women in.

"Um, Sportacus, this is my mother, Gabriella." Jessica introduced her mother, and the two shook their hands.

"It's finally nice to meet you." Gabriella smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too." Sportacus smiled back.

"Well, um, there are some things I need to tell you before I leave. First, I won't be available tomorrow because I'm going to hang out with my mom, so I won't be able to come and talk as you wanted, but we can do it later." She told him.

"Oh, that's too bad, but I understand." He told her, his face showed a little of disappointment.

"Yeah, and second... Um... Joshua kinda said his first word today." She told him nervously.

"Really? Ugh, and I missed it. Can you tell me what it was?" he asked.

"Um, yeah... He said 'mama'. To me." She told him and gulped.

"Wow, that's really great." He smiled.

"R-Really?" Jessica asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I must admit it, I sometimes call you 'Mommy Jessica' when I talk to him. So I guess it was just natural for him too to call you that." He explained.

"I guess so..." Jessica smiled and even blushed a little.

Gabriella just enjoyed herself in every moment.

"Well, I think we'll be going now. Goodnight." Jessica turned and left with her mother.

When they were far enough from his house, Gabriella burst in laugh.

"What?" Jessica didn't understand.

"I'm sorry, but this was pretty funny. You were all tensed and he wasn't mad at you at all." Gabriella told her and Jessica just shook her head.

"But what does he want to talk to you about tomorrow?" she asked her daughter.

"No idea. Anyway, I'll meet you in the lobby of the hotel around 8:00am, ok?" Jessica told her.

"No problem. Goodnight, sweetie." Gabriella kissed her daughter's forehead and the two went to their separate ways.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The next morning, Jessica and her mother Gabriella waited in the waiting room to their turn to the doctor. Jessica was now 4 months pregnant, and had a tiny bump. Right now, she was a bundle of nerves.

"Did you drink enough? Do you want to bring you glass of water, maybe?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes, I drank enough, my bladder could explode any moment." Jessica nervously answered, and tapped with her foot on the floor.

When Jessica was called into the room, she let out a sigh of relief and went into the room, followed by her mother.

She lied on the bed, pulled up her shirt (her mother got really excited to see her tiny belly), and waited for the doctor to begin the examination.

Once the transducer was on her stomach, Gabriella held Jessica's hand very tight. The doctor ran the transducer over her stomach until he got a clear image on the monitor.

"Here it is. Now let's see... Well, it seems that there are two heartbeats in there." The doctor said.

"What do you mean by 'two heartbeats'?" Jessica asked confused.

"It means that there are two babies in your womb." He said with a smile.

Jessica and her mother instantly looked at each other and smiled.

"Now, it's a little hard to see right now since they're not big enough, but it seems that you're having two little girls." The doctor added.

"Oh my god..." Jessica smiled with tears in her eyes, keeping looking at the monitor.

"Yes. Here is one," the doctor pointed at the screen, "and here is the other one."

"Wow..." Jessica kept smiling, but now she let the happy tears fall down.

* * *

After their appointment at the doctor, the mother and daughter walked around the town together.

"So, have you thought how you're going to tell Sportacus the news?" Gabriella asked.

"No, but I guess that I'll hear what he has to say first. Then, whether it was bad or good, I'll tell him. I just hope that he won't freak out." Jessica simply told her.

Since it was almost the end of July, the weather was extremely hot.

"Can we just sit for a minute or too? I'm getting really tired..." Jessica pleaded her mom.

"Why, sure..." Gabriella responded, and noticed that something was wrong with her daughter.

Jessica tried to reach the bench, but right before she could sit, she passed out. Luckily, Gabriella caught her just before she hit the ground, then she called for help.

At his home, Sportacus' crystal was beeping.

"Someone's in trouble!" he said out loud, and left Joshua by himself on the couch.

He ran as fast as he could, until he reached Gabriella and Jessica.

"Oh, thank god you came, Sportacus! I think Jessica has dried up." Gabriella said a little panicked.

"Ok… Let's just get her to my house, and I'll give her some water." He calmed her and carried Jessica in his arms all the way to his home.

* * *

At Sportacus' home, Jessica was given some water and she did woke up, but Sportacus suggested her to rest a little more, and so she did. So while she was asleep in his bedroom, Gabriella and Sportacus had a little conversation.

"Look. I heard from my daughter that you wanted to talk to her today. Now, as her mother, I think I have the right to know what is it about, and if it's going to hurt her, since I've heard about your behavior lately." Gabriella told him.

"Oh, don't worry, I actually want to apology about everything." He told her and she sighed.

"Hey, I know how it feels to lose someone that you love with all your heart. I've been there a few times, and I'm sure that you're still hurting because of your wife, but I'm also sure that you're loving my daughter as much as you loved and still loving Stephanie. And I know that she loves you and Joshua as much. But once you committed to be with her and even got her pregnant, you can't take it back, because I know that wonderful things are going to happen to you and Joshua once you'll get back together with her." She told him. Sportacus just smiled.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Mendler, I won't let you down." He said.

"Oh, the formality isn't needed. Just call me Gabi." She smiled at him.

* * *

After an hour and a half of talking, Jessica came out of the bedroom.

"Hey... What time is it?" she asked, still half asleep.

"10:30." Gabriella told her after she looked at her watch.

"You know, in your condition, you should drink more water, or that might happen to you again." Sportacus told her.

"I know, you're right..." she said and yawned.

"You know what, I think I'll go back to my hotel and leave you two alone." Gabriella excused herself. She thanked Sportacus once more and left.

"Um... Is it ok if we'll talk right now?" Sportacus asked. He wanted to make sure that she feels ok before they talk.

"Um, yeah, sure..." she said and he helped her to sit down next to him.

"Look, all I want to say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for my behavior for the last month. I know that you were very considerate and helped with Joshua, but right now you're the one who need my help. When your mother was here she told me a very true thing, and it's that I love you as much as I still love Stephanie. I was blessed because I was given not one, but two amazing women into my life." He told her as he smiled and held her hands in his.

"You know, it might be four..." Jessica said, looking into his eyes.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sportacus asked confused.

"Well... My mom came with me to the doctor today, for my first ultrasound, and he saw that I'm having twin girls." She smiled a weak smile at him, worrying of what he will do next.

"That's really great Jessica!" he hugged her tight, and couple of happy tears fell down.

"I'm so glad that we're alright now." Jessica said and hugged him back.

"Are you kidding? We're better than ever." He released her and then kissed her tiny bump.

"But, you know... I'm still afraid..." she told him.

"Afraid? Of what?" he asked.

"For the past month I've been thinking of how my life could look like if I didn't lose my baby back when I was 18. And most of the times, I think I could be happier. And now I'm afraid that I will lose them again or that something will happen to them once they're born." She explained.

"Hey – as long as we're together, I'm not going to let anything or anyone to hurt you and our little babies." He said and lied his hand over Jessica's little belly and then he kissed her.

* * *

At night, Sportacus had the weirdest dream. Everything around him was white. Just white.

"Hello?" He called out.

"Sportacus? Is that you?" he heard a voice.

"Yes. Who are you?" he asked.

"Sportacus, that's me!" he saw a woman in front of him.

Sportacus couldn't believe his eyes. Stephanie was standing right before him.

"Stephanie... Oh, Stephanie!" they ran to each other, hugged and kissed.

"Oh, Sportacus, I missed you much!" She cried.

"I missed you too..." he whispered.

"But tell me, how..?" he asked.

"I've been watching you all the time, my dear. And I know that you still love me, but I'm glad that you find such a wonderful woman to move on with. She's really great, she treats you and Joshua really great." Stephanie said with a smile.

"I'm very glad that you think that way. I still love you."

"I know. But you must know that I never left your side. I'm always there, accompanying you, Joshua and even Jessica. And I want you to know that I consider the four of us as one family, like you and Jessica do." She told him.

"Well, actually, Jessica and I are going to have twins, so..."

"Ok, then the six of us." Stephanie laughed.

"I need to go, but I want to remember that whenever you need me, whenever you want to talk to me – just call my name, and I'll be there, listening. I miss you." Stephanie said and Sportacus nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Alright. I miss you too. Goodbye." He cried and kissed her for the last time.

Then he woke up smiling.

His thoughts went from this dream to what happened today with Jessica. When she told him they are about to have twin girls, then kissing and feeling her little belly, and then he thought of what she said. She doesn't want to lose the babies like she did when she was 18.

Then he realized – someone up there was doing it on purpose. This someone decided to make it up for both of them. Jessica, for losing her first baby and Sportacus, for losing his wife.

It all made sense to him now, in a kind of way.


End file.
